Doug sits down to talk with author Sherry Boas, a prolific Catholic Arizonan who has written a variety of books. Her works include Billowtail (about a squirrel on the Camino de Santiago), Wing Tip, a series of rosary meditations and the "Lily" series, about a girl with Down's Syndrome and the people she touches. You can find her website at www.caritaspress.org.

July 14, 2015 

Matt Maher is an accomplished Catholic singer/songwriter in the CCM/Praise and Worship genre. He has a string of successful album sales and awards. Also, he has played in front of millions, including a noted performance during Eucharistic Adoration at World Youth Day in 2013. Known for writing/performing songs such as "Your Grace Is Enough", "Lord, I Need You", "Turn Around", "Rise Up", and "Hold Us Together", he is the rare Catholic who has been fully embraced by Contemporary Christian Music scene.

Maher was born in Newfoundland, Canada but later moved to the Phoenix area to study music at Arizona State. He  tours often and lives in Nashville with his wife and two children. His latest album is "Saint and Sinners". Follow him on Twitter at @MattMaherMusic and check out his website at www.mattmahermusic.com.

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Music credit: "Deliverer" by Matt Maher, Bo Rineheart, Bear Rinehart, performed by Matt Maher.

July 03, 2015

Dr. Cole is an Asst. Professor of Philosophy at Hillsdale College in Michigan. He did his undergrad work at Hillsdale and received his PhD from Villanova University. His areas of interest include Aquinas, Ancient and Medieval Metaphysics and Psychology, Philosophy of Religion and Phenomenology.

Take a listen as Dr. Cole talks with Doug about this scholarly saint and giant of western thought. Also, they discuss the uniqueness of Hillsdale for ten minutes or so as Doug tries to regain his bearings after learning so much so quickly. Then, they talk more Aquinas.

Also, Dr. Cole was a guest on Hugh Hewitt's (another former CP guest) radio show in March/April of 2014 for 5 consecutive Fridays on Hugh's weekly Hillsdale Dialogues. You can find them right here at: https://online.hillsdale.edu/hillsdaledialogues. Of course, they are the episodes about St. Thomas Aquinas.

Doug continues his streak of not being the smartest guy on the show as he talks with Brother Guy, an M.I.T.-educated Jesuit astronomer who works for The Vatican Observatory, splitting his time between the Vatican and its satellite research center at the University of Arizona. He's a veteran of the Peace Corps, won the 2014 Sagan Medal and appeared on The Colbert Report. Also, he's authored or co-authored numerous books, most recently Would You Baptize An Extraterrestial? with a fellow Jesuit, Fr. Paul Mueller. As of the writing of this, host Doug Connolly has done none of those things.

However, don't let that stop you from visiting our website at www.catholicphoenix.com, rating us in iTunes and sending us feedback at [email protected].

[Note: Apologies to Fr. Paul Mueller for mispronouncing his name in the preface to the interview.]

Doug sits down with Tyson Foutz to talk about the current state of energy. In particular, he discusses the concerns, facts and fictions of fracking, the controversial practice that has been linked to both an enormous boom in energy and serious environmental concerns. Tyson is a petroleum engineering consultant based in the Four Corners area of New Mexico and has been in the industry his entire professional life...and then some. Visit our website at www.catholicphoenix.com,  send us feedback at [email protected]. Of course, rate us on iTunes!

Eve writes regularly for Patheos and The American Conservative, but her work has also been featured in outlets such as USA Today, Commonweal and The Weekly Standard. In this interview, this delightful lady talks about her book, friendship, celibate life and vocations. You can also find her on Twitter at @evetushnet and you can find her book here.

Laura is the executive director of Maggie's Place, a home for pregnant women here in Phoenix, with another branch in Cleveland. She talks about her work and some of the challenges they have overcome in becoming one of the leading charities in the area. Visit Maggie's Place online and be sure to rate us on iTunes.

Dr. Miller is our guest for this show. He's a professor of biology at Brown University, specializing in cell biology and evolution. He's the author of numerous textbooks and a few more mainstream books: Finding Darwin's God and Only a Theory. He joins the show today to talk about the evidence for evolution and the war against it be the Intelligent Design. Please rate us in iTunes.

This episode, Doug talks with Kevin Ford, a farmer from Kansas who created "The New Catholic Land Movement", who talks about his group, along with some technical aspects of farming and the challenges he faces. Kevin's movement is a continuation of the distributive system favored by G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc. Also, Kevin was named one of the FOCUS Blog's "30 under 30" for 2013. You can find him online at New Catholic Land Movement.

This week's interview is with Shaarik Zafar, the U.S. Secretary of State's Special Representative to Muslim Communities.  A lawyer by education and by trade, Shaarik has served in Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center, before taking his current position. He talks today about the challenges the both government and other Muslims face in fighting groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram. Click here for bio and twitter.